The safest method of interrupting pregnancy involves oral pills with abortifacient potential. The fact that women don’t have to prepare themselves for abortion procedure, is an absolute advantage of oral pills for abortion. Abortion pills do not cause severe irreversible complications that are usually typical for surgical abortion. Therefore thousands of women all over the world choose namely abortion pills for interruption of pregnancy.
One little drawback of oral pills for abortion is that in order to achieve the desirable result, one should take them no later than in seven weeks after fertilization. If pregnancy is over 7 weeks, women can be prescribed a surgical abortion or vaginal suppositories (Dinoprostone) as alternative means to oral abortion pills.
Unlike abortion pills, which are mostly prescribed for the first trimester abortion mostly, vaginal suppositories are used for medical abortion only within the second trimester of pregnancy (12 to 20 weeks). That is why it is inappropriate to use these pills at early pregnancy.
Please note that there is a group of drugs (interferons) causing abortifacient effect. Pregnancy interruption (abortion) is side effect of interferons and medical abortion is not the indication for their use. In modern clinical practice, interferons are prescribed for the treatment of hepatitis (Pegasys,Infergen) and multiple sclerosis (Avonex, Rebif, Betaseron).
There are also anti-tumor drugs that have abortifacient potential. For instance, Panitumumab for for cancer treatment. This drug not only stimulates interruption of pregnancy, but also causes fetal death. Thus the drug is contraindicated for pregnant women.
All drugs, containing interferons (peginterferon alfa-2a; interferon beta-1a, interferon alfacon-1) and some anti-tumor drugs are produced in form of injection solution. You can find information on abortifacient effect of infection drug or oral abortion pills on the label.
If woman decides to use oral pills for abortion, doctor may prescribe her either Mifepristone drug, or this drug but combined with oral drug Misoprostol. In some countries (for instance in France), abortion pills Misoprostol are prescribed in combination with vaginal suppositories Gemeprost. According to pharmacological classification, oral abortion Misoprostol pills and vaginal suppositories Gemeprost are analog to prostaglandin.
Abortion pills and pregnancy interruption
Mifepristone is antiprogestational steroid, which can interrupt pregnancy within the first three days after oral use. One should take three abortion pills Mifepristone 200mg at once (one time) for abortion.
If 48 hours after oral intake of abortion pills, containing Mifepristone, abortifacient effect is not achieved, women are prescribed some analogues of prostaglandin (orally or vaginally). The dose of prostaglandin analogue can be taken once or divided into two intakes.
It must be noted that abortion pills provide abortifacient effect only if taken during the first to seventh week (included) of pregnancy. As alternative to abortion pills, women, whose pregnancy is over 49 weeks, may take vaginal suppositories containing prostaglandins (like Dinoprostone) or surgical abortion is recommended.
For some women doctor prescribes oral abortion pills for second trimester of pregnancy as well. However in this case, these pills are taken not for pregnancy interruption, but to prepare for surgical abortion. Thus the pills have to be taken under medical officer’s supervision only, regardless of the purposes these abortion pills were prescribed for.